


things you said (through your teeth)

by gabolange



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: F/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 07:49:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20224363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gabolange/pseuds/gabolange
Summary: A little snapshot of Shelagh and Patrick.





	things you said (through your teeth)

**Author's Note:**

> Posted July 14, 2019 in response to the prompt, "things you said through your teeth."
> 
> No beta, any errors are my own.

***

“Patrick,” Shelagh said, her teeth clenched together as she forced her lips into a smile. “Stop looking at the camera.”

They were at the surgery, as they were every day, and only one thing was out of the ordinary: the presence of a film crew from the BBC. There was a man with a microphone and another with a camera, and they were in Poplar to learn more about the advances in vaccine technology in the place the improvements were most needed. Shelagh could hardly argue with the mission, and Patrick had jumped at it too. But the execution, well. 

“Doctor,” the cameraman said. “Please pretend we aren’t here.”

It was the third reminder, but Patrick--who loved to grin into Timothy’s Polaroid--kept turning away from his work to explain things and glancing over his shoulder to make sure he was doing things right.

“We already got everything we needed in the interview, sir,” the posh interviewer said as nicely as he could. “We would like to observe now--in situ, as it were.”

Shelagh was not sure Patrick would take kindly to being spoken to as if he was some kind of archeological find, but he nodded and looked back to the room. They were observing little Maisie Sanders, in a coma after taking ill with the measles. The girl’s face was flush and her breathing shallow, and Shelagh wished there was more to do than show her to the world. 

“We could have helped her,” Patrick said, not to the camera or to anyone. “We should have been able to help her.” Shelagh slipped her hand into his and squeezed, and for a moment it was just the two of them and the patient they wanted so badly to save.

***


End file.
